Search This Blog

Small Town Theater

Stuart and I are on a date...two laps around the block....cell phone in hand. From a distance we see an older person studying the ground. Around here, weeds can bring on an anxiety attack.

"How many grams in an ounce?"

Stuart and I...engineer and educator...do not have an answer. None is expected.

"28 grams. This is 3.6 grams." The little man straightens up and holds out a tiny red radio-controlled airplane. "It doesn't fly right." He works the levers. The plane rises silently to eye level and bucks in a lazy circle. He brings it in for a landing."It's out of balance. I like to fly it slow and I can't because it's out of balance... You'll have to excuse me, I left my teeth in the house... I just got out of the hospital...spent 89 days in there. I'm weak...very weak... Maybe if I cut the wire and slide the engine up a little that might balance it. Hate to do that though...might break it." He studies the plane for a minute.

The little man fiddles with the controls again and the plane lifts off. It sails smoothly around us while his words continue to gallop by. "You work north of here don't you? Pensions aren't what they used to be. Won't be nuthin' left in twenty years. I'm not worried...be dead by then. You on the other hand...might be just like my grandparents. They had nuthin'... nuthin'... Might get another one of these planes. They make one that's three grams...lightest one built...Nice to meet you. "

The small man goes into his house. We don't know his name.

We turn the corner. Three girls and a tiny dog are coming our way. We recognize the dog before the girls. Oscar is Henrie's friend. Abby is spinning round and round swinging something. As she comes closer, we can see that she is holding a belt. Metal cutouts shimmer down its length. The gigantic buckle swings freely at the end. Abby does not look up. She hums and spins and talks to her belt. Her mom and her sister, Jenny, keep out of its path.

Conversation is more two-sided this time but we must watch out for the belt.

"Jenny just got back from a field trip to Shiloh."

"Oh, how far is that from here?"

"About two and a half hours by bus, ma'am. We saw monuments and toured the battlefield. They have a bookstore there and I got a hat."

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

And when I clicked on the sample, I knew we had to change spelling curriculums. Again. Goodbye Spelling Power and MacMillan and Sequential Spelling! We've found our true love.

The problem with the afore mentioned curricula is sheer boredom. Memorizing lists of words is mind numbing and as my children don't like their school work to lull them to sleep, they often push spelling to the side in favor of more exciting lessons.

When I found Spelling Wisdom, I realized what has been missing: an idea, something to engage the mind so that learning the difference between than and then occurs almost incidentally.

Sandra Shaffer uses the writings of famous men and women (Helen Keller, Beethoven, Winston Churchill...), Bible passages and quotes from quality literature...poems and novels (Robinson Crusoe, The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, All the World's a Stage...) to teach more than six thousand frequently used word…

This week, I let a kindergarten kid play with my iPhone to
coax him into the tutoring classroom. I
set up a plan for dealing with this ongoing issue and consulted with his
mama. She’s a tough one to get to know,
his mama, but I try.
This week, I promised two little boys I would pick them up
on Friday and take them to my house.
This week, on a crazy afternoon, a granny asked me for
alcohol and I thought. I wish!I could
use a swig. But that's not what she meant. She was looking for rubbing
alcohol or hydrogen peroxide to take care of an injured kid. A few months ago, we were awkward because we didn't know each other but now the awkwardness is gone and I can’t help but hug her
every time I see her. I love that granny.
This week, I dropped off a little girl and shook hands with
her father. His hand was dry, he had
a tattoo on his neck and he's just fresh from jail. He asked how his daughter was doing in class
and they both basked in the rain of praise.
This week, a …

We had. John did a little Gollum dance in front of the computer to let us know. "Come quick! Hurry!"

Morse code. The kids all joined John in his little Gollum dance to celebrate their new favorite form of communication.

We read Cheaper by the Dozen a few years ago when the little ones were too little so, my chore time pep talks, "Frank Gilbreth would roll over in his grave if he saw you clearing that table one plate at a time," only generated blank stares. Finally, after Mr. Gilbreth came up for the twentieth time Faith got curious. "WHO is Frank Gilbreth and WHY do you keep talking about him?"

Out came Cheaper by the Dozen . We rolled our way through the chapters, holding our sides. A story of a motion study pioneer who practiced his techniques on himself and his supersized family with hilarious results. A born teacher, a man who made the most of his time. We were spellbound. When w…